NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CANADIAN CORPORATE NEWS
FOR: INTERNATIONAL THUNDERBIRD GAMING CORPORATION
TSE SYMBOL: INB
JUNE 22, 1999
Thunderbird Announces Joint Development with Tamanaco
Entertainment and Marketing/Distribution Agreement with
Quick Draw Shuffler
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA--International Thunderbird Gaming
Corporation (TSE - INB) is pleased to announce a joint venture
with Tamanaco Entertainment C.A., a Venezuelan corporation.
Thunderbird and Tamanaco have entered into a "Gaming Operations
Agreement" to develop, own and operate casinos, bingo parlors and
other gaming related operations in Venezuela.
The principals of Tamanaco Entertainment C.A. are Daniel Matos
Romero (CEO-Tamanaco Entertainment C.A.) and Rafael Tudela
Reverter (President-Hotel Tamanaco Inter-Continental), who are
prominent businessmen in Venezuela. Tamanaco owns and manages
hotels in Venezuela including the Hotel Tamanaco, a five star
international hotel in Caracas with 580 rooms and convention
facilities.
The Gaming Operations Agreement calls for the formation of various
entities that will be owned by Thunderbird and Tamanaco on a 50/50
basis. Each of the Thunderbird-Tamanaco entities will seek
licensing to engage in separate gaming operations throughout
Venezuela. Venezuela is a regulated gaming market, with strict
federal licensing requirements and a national gaming commission as
established in the Venezuelan Law for the control of casinos,
bingo parlors and slot machines. Venezuela has recently enacted
legislation that has altered its gaming laws and regulations. One
provision of the new law mandated the closing of all existing
casinos in the country. This was accomplished in 1998. Under the
new legislation, casino licenses in Venezuela are limited to five
star hotels with 200 rooms or more located in "designated tourist
areas". A local gaming referendum must also be passed as a
condition to license a gaming establishment in a "designated
tourist area". At this time, there are five designated tourist
areas in mainland Venezuela, which have approved local gaming
referendums. Venezuela has a population of 23 million and is seen
as a natural extension of Thunderbird's growing operations in
Latin America. For market comparison purposes, the Republic of
Panama, where the Company is operating its four Fiesta Casinos,
has a population of approximately 3 million.
Thunderbird is also pleased to announce that the Company has
entered into an exclusive Marketing and Distribution Agreement
with Quick Draw Shuffler LLC, to market and distribute a
revolutionary "continuous" shuffler casino product in the United
States and Central America. The "continuous" shuffler operates in
either single deck or five deck format and discards are placed
directly back into the shuffler after each game. The Quick Draw
Shuffler has already attracted attention from casino operators
because (1) it ensures a totally random shuffling system; (2)
increases the number of games per hour; and (3) eliminates "card
counting".
International Thunderbird Gaming Corporation is an owner and
manager of international gaming facilities. Additional
information about the Company is available on its World Wide Web
site at www.intltbird.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Jack R. Mitchell, President and CEO
Cautionary Notice: This release contains certain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of section 21E of the United States
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements,
other than statements of historical fact, included herein,
including without limitation, statements regarding potential
revenue and plans and objectives of the Company are
forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties.
There can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be
accurate and actual results could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's
forward-looking statements include competitive pressures,
unfavorable changes in regulatory structures, and general risks
associated with business, all of which are disclosed under the
heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's documents
filed from time-to-time with the TSE and other regulatory
authorities.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
International Thunderbird Gaming Corporation
Investor Relations
(619) 451-3637 or 1-888-451-3637
Website: www.intltbird.com
E-mail info@intltbird.com
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